Zhang Ming, a college student from Shandong, created a 9-page “WeChat guide”. With drawings and simple words, the step-by-step guide explains how to send messages, take pictures and make video calls. Zhang made the guide for his parents. “My parents are getting old. They need an easy way to learn how to use new technology.” He said.
Zhang's experience is common nowadays. Worldwide, 40 percent of parents learn about new technologies, including computers, mobile Internet and social media, from their children, according to a study from the International Communication Association in 2014.
Parents used to teach their kids about almost everything. Now for the first time, the teachers become the students, and the students turn into the teachers.
The change of roles comes from the rapid development of society and technology, says Zhou Xiaohong, a sociology professor from Nanjing University. Zhou said the Internet and other forms of media give children ways to get information besides from asking older generations(长辈). Therefore, in the age of information, it's possible that children know more than their parents do.
According to the China Internet Network Information Center(CINIC), 56.7 percent of Internet users and 67.2 percent of social media users in China are under the age of 30. The younger generation usually acts as a link between their family and the new environment. But when they teach their parents new technologies, parents can connect to the new world by themselves, noted Zhou.
In Zhang Ming's eyes, teaching his parents about WeChat brings him closer to his parents. “People can communicate more by using new technology. Why should we keep our parents out?” said Zhang.
